A temporary moratorium prohibits Acme Township from processing applications for Computing and Data Processing uses, including planned developments, special use permits, site plans, and land-use permits, and prohibits approvals or zoning permits for those uses.

The moratorium remains in effect for six months from its effective date, regardless of whether replacement zoning amendments are adopted.

The moratorium ordinance does not become effective until the eighth day after publication.

Under the proposed data-center ordinance, data centers may be allowed only as a special land use in the Industrial District, requiring special-land-use approval rather than automatic authorization.

Data-center proposals would require both a special land-use permit and site-plan approval, with all required fees and escrow funds submitted before an application is accepted.

An incomplete data-center application would not be accepted.

Data centers would be subject to maximum lot-coverage limits applicable to the Industrial District.

Cooling equipment would require full-height sound-attenuation screening and setbacks of at least 1,500 feet from sensitive land-use lot lines if roof-mounted or 1,000 feet if ground-mounted.

Generators would generally need full acoustic enclosures, could not be located within 1,000 feet of a sensitive land use, and roof-mounted generators would be prohibited.

Data-center buildings could not exceed the maximum height allowed in the Industrial District.

Data centers would be required to minimize views from public rights-of-way, neighboring properties, and sensitive land uses through architectural features, berms, landscaping, or other screening that the Planning Commission could require.

Noise would be limited to 55 dB(A) during the day, 45 dB(A) at night, and 65 dB(C) for steady tonal sound, measured at specified property lines or nearby sensitive land uses.

Lighting would have to be dark-sky friendly, directed downward, and produce zero footcandles at the property line.

Ground-borne vibration could not exceed 0.01 inches per second peak particle velocity at the property line, and generators would require vibration isolation and mitigation.

Continuous vibration monitoring would be required along property lines within 1,000 feet of a sensitive land use, with monitoring points no more than 500 feet apart.

Water Usage Effectiveness could not exceed 0.2, and evaporative cooling would be prohibited.

Power Usage Effectiveness could not exceed 1.2, and the facility would have to comply with the most stringent applicable Michigan energy-code, ASHRAE, or Michigan-specific data-center energy requirements.

A data center would need on-site energy storage capable of supplying at least 50 percent of peak electrical demand for at least 15 minutes.

Applicants would have to demonstrate that the data center can supply its energy needs independently of the energy currently available within the Township and comply with applicable state and federal energy requirements.

Generator testing and exercising would be limited to 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, prohibited on State holidays, and limited to no more than two generators tested simultaneously.

Generators would have to be U.S. EPA Tier 4 compliant, and lower-noise or lower-emission backup power sources would have to be used to the maximum extent practicable.

Air, dust, smoke, glare, exhaust, heat, and humidity from the facility could not be perceptible at or beyond the data-center property line.

Data centers would have to prepare and comply with emergency-response and fire-response plans.

The facility would have to provide safe access, on-site queuing at security gates, and access drives sufficient for emergency response.

Construction and operational surface-water runoff would have to be managed effectively on-site.

A qualified engineer would have to certify that the data center and associated equipment comply with applicable manufacturer, industry, local construction, electrical, federal, and state requirements.

Data centers would have to obtain all necessary building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and other permits.

Except for grid interconnection lines, electrical wiring would generally have to be installed underground unless a qualified engineer certifies that underground installation is prohibited by applicable law or code.

A transfer of data-center ownership would require 60 days' notice to the Township and Township approval verifying that the new owner can comply with the special-land-use and site-plan conditions.

Applicants would have to submit qualified analyses of environmental and community impacts and demonstrate compliance with federal, state, and local environmental standards.

Construction would generally be limited to 7:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, unless the Planning Commission approves otherwise.

Applicants would have to submit detailed information on ownership, operators, parcels, construction schedules, proposed uses, compliance with every applicable standard, electrical infrastructure, power demand, utility capacity, cooling systems, water use, energy storage, backup generation, environmental impacts, site design, landscaping, utilities, and emergency response.

Applicants would have to provide a decommissioning plan, including the project's anticipated life, estimated decommissioning cost, abandonment conditions, completion schedule, responsible party, and landowner arrangements.

Decommissioning would have to begin within six months after abandonment or another triggering event and be completed within 18 months.

Financial assurance for decommissioning would have to equal at least 125 percent of the total decommissioning value, exclude salvage value, and be maintained throughout the facility's life; separate construction-period assurance would also be required.

The Planning Commission could require a development agreement covering site-plan completion, continuing compliance, maintenance, utilities, stormwater, roads, construction oversight, performance guarantees, reimbursable Township costs, and enforcement procedures.

The proposed requirements would not apply to a small-scale data center only if it is accessory and subordinate to an existing principal use, entirely inside existing conforming structures, creates no adverse impacts, and requires no additional utility-provider approvals for electrical or water usage.

The moratorium is temporary: the prohibition on processing or approving computing and data-processing applications automatically expires six months after the ordinance’s effective date. The ordinance becomes effective on the eighth day after publication. expire automatically six months from the effective date

The existing zoning framework allows data centers by right in two zoning districts, according to the Planning and Zoning Administrator’s report. That status would allow qualifying facilities to proceed without a special-land-use designation once the moratorium ends, unless the Township later changes the zoning text. data centers are a use by right in two zoning districts

The draft permanent ordinance expressly authorizes data centers as a special land use in the Industrial Zoning District, creating a defined zoning path for development rather than prohibiting the use outright. add the following use as a special land use in the Industrial Zoning District

The draft ordinance exempts a small data center that is accessory and subordinate to an existing principal use from the data-center-specific standards when it is entirely inside an existing conforming structure, creates no adverse impacts, and requires no additional utility-provider approval for electrical or water use. SMALL-SCALE OPERATION EXCEPTION

The draft ordinance allows a data-center ownership transfer after 60 days’ notice, with Township approval limited to verifying that the new owner can comply with the approval terms; approval may not be unreasonably withheld. Approval shall not be unreasonably withheld by the Township